TERRE HAUTE —
One of Indiana State football coach Trent Miles’ stated goals for Saturday’s Blue-White spring football scrimmage was to get through the game unaffected by injuries.
As the 12-minute running clock ticked down — one of the concessions made by the football staff to speed the scrimmage up and get players off the field unscathed — it appeared ISU would make it through its spring game more-or-less unscathed.
But on the last play of the scrimmage, disaster struck.
Starting center FN Lutz — the only healthy center ISU had Saturday, which caused the senior to play for both the White and Blue offense — felt something was awry went he planted his left foot in the Memorial Stadium turf.
“My foot got stuck. My upper body moved and my lower body didn’t. I just felt a pop in the knee,” Lutz said.
The freak occurrence caused Lutz’s left knee to give out. Lutz later emerged from the ISU locker room on crutches. The extent of the damage — and whether there is a season-ending ligament tear — wasn’t known at press time.
Lutz’s injury occurred with 23 seconds left and it put an immediate end to the scrimmage. The mood was somber in the wake of the injury and Miles was crestfallen by Lutz’s misfortune.
“It’s not good. It’s the one guy we didn’t want to get hurt. No one hit him, his knee just gave out. It could have been the first play, it could have been the last, but it’s a very disappointing way to end spring football,” Miles said.
Prior to the injury, ISU’s defense demonstrated that it was significantly ahead of the offense.
In fact, neither the White offense, comprised of the expected starters next fall, nor the reserves could lead ISU on a scoring drive.
“We made a point this spring to come out with high energy and stop everything the offense had,” said ISU linebacker Aaron Archie, who accounted for the only score of the game via an interception return. “We want to establish ourselves as the best defense in the conference. We believe we have all-conference players at each position.”
The closest either offensive unit came was a White series led by Travis Johnson that got the White team to the 18-yard line, one of just two times the Sycamores were in the red zone all day. That drive fizzled when Tanner Fristchle badly shanked a 28-yard field goal attempt wide left, his only attempt of the game.
Western Michigan transfer quarterback Mike Perish had the reigns for the White offense. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 33 yards. Perish also threw an interception that led to the only score of the scrimmage. Archie jumped a route and on the right side and went 28 yards for a touchdown for the Blue team, which suited up the No. 1 defense.
“It was kind of rough for the offense. We need to eliminate the negative plays on 2nd-and-longs and 3rd-and-longs. We need to be more consistent to get good looks,” Perish said. “I’m getting used to the timing with the receivers. I think we’re getting better each day.”
Johnson threw for 70 yards, but ISU struggled to get anything going all day offensively. Running back Shakir Bell — an All-American last season — rushed for 19 yards, but was mostly held out of action.
“We just have to come together as an offense. Some new leaders have to emerge. We have to have some guys be more vocal,” Bell said. “Losing Ronnie Fouch really hit us, he kept everything together, but I see those same qualities in our quarterbacks now.”
Miles was succinct in his appraisal of the scrimmage.
“There was excellent energy level on the defense’s part. Offensively, I don’t think they came close to matching the defense, so the defense put the hammer to them,” Miles said.
There were few surprises personnel-wise during the scrimmage. Isaiah Bishop, a walk-on defensive tackle, had two sacks for the White defense. The only other injury of note was a shoulder injury suffered by starting cornerback Calvin Burnett, but it was not believed to be serious.
But thoughts were on Lutz as the Sycamores mingled after the scrimmage.
“I’ve played with FN since I’ve been here and he’s the core of our offense. Anytime I’ve done something spectacular, FN was right there leading the charge. My prayer’s are with him,” Bell said.
Blue 7, White 0
Blue 7 0 0 0 — 7
White 0 0 0 0 — 0
Blue — Aaron Archie 21 interception return (Tanner Fritschle kick)
STATISTICS
Passing — White — Mike Perish 6-11-1, 33 yards; Travis Johnson 8-14-0, 70. Blue — Blake Loncar 3-7-1, 22; Trent Lancaster 1-3-0, -3.
Rushing — White — Shakir Bell 4-19, Lancaster 1-11, Tanner Riley 1-6, Luke Harris 6-5, Perish 3-3. Blue — Richie Dyer 10-24 (Dyer also took some snaps for the White team), Joe McCormick 4-3, Foluke Gordan-Lamar 2-(-2).
Receiving — White — Donald Spencer 3-42, Riley 3-20, Chris O’Leary 2-17, Austen Wozniak 2-10, Bell 2-2, Michael Mardis 1-15, Dyer 1-(-3). Blue — Barry McCarter 1-8, DeSean Prentice 1-7, Gordan-Lamar 1-7, McCormick 1-(-3).
Offense
White team Blue team
QB — Mike Perish, Travis Johnson QB — Blake Loncar, Trent Lancaster
RB — Shakir Bell, Luke Harris, Austen Wozniak (FB) RB — Richie Dyer, Joe McCormick, Foluke Gordan-Lamar
WR — Donald Spencer, Tanner Riley, Demory Lawshe, Chris O’Leary WR — Taje High, DeSean Prentice, Daniel Gabbard
TE — Michael Mardis, Garrick Dikos TE — Logan Buske, Barry McCarter
T — Paul Patrick (LT), Adam Masters (RT) T — Alex Ferguson (LT), Evan Estep (RT)
G — Nick Rice (LG), Casey Paswater (RG) G — Nathaniel Schuster. (Rice played for blue team)
C — FN Lutz C — Lutz (played for both teams)
Defense
Blue team White team
DE — Ben Obaseki, Tyler Stafford DE — Zakee Bashir, Conrad Nicholls
DT — Garrison McElroy, Tyler Boyd DT — Jordan Bright, Josh Keyt
OLB — Dillon Painter, Connor Underwood OLB — Tarris Batiste, Gerrick Ratliff
ILB — Aaron Archie, Jacolby Washington ILB — Kendall Walker, Ian Allen
CB — Calvin Burnett, Johnny Towalid, Othniel Harvey CB — Travis Starks
S — Larry King, Donovan Layne S — Kamerin Mitchell
College
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Two of the best: Indiana State linebacker Aaron Archie tries to slow down teammate Shakir Bell during the Blue and White scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Run with that: Indiana State's Blake Loncar hands the ball off to teammate Richie Dyer during the Sycamores' Blue White scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza 44 saw that one coming: Indiana State's Larry King (44) intercepts a pass intended for teammate Donald Spencer (1) during the Sycamores' Blue White Scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Ground pounder: Indiana State's Joe McCormick is tackled by a pair of teammates during the Sycamores' Blue and White scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Ground pounder: Indiana State's Joe McCormick is tackled by a pair of teammates during the Sycamores' Blue and White scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Dodge and weave: Indiana State's Foluke Gordon-Lamar (47) tries to avoid the grasp of teammates Conrrad Nicholls (79) and Tanner Fritschle (94) during the Blue and White scrimmage Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Discussion
ISU blue after football scrimmage
Senior center suffers injury, Sycamores' offense struggles
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